Requests for clarification and children's speech responses: Changing `pasghetti' to `spaghetti'

Abstract

One way children improve their pronunciation of monosyllabic words is via clarification requests, specifically, the adult saying an incorrect production that differs from the child's incorrect production (Weiner and Ostrowski, 1979). The aim of this study was to investigate children's responses to clarification requests when producing polysyllabic words (three or more syllables). Six typically developing children, aged 4;1 to 4;9 years, produced polysyllabic words during both a single word task and in conversational speech. When participants produced polysyllabic words incorrectly, a predetermined clarification request was used. Following this request, participants improved in their production of polysyllabic words, suggesting that clarification requests may have therapeutic applications.